Sunday, October 7, 2012

Sandhill Crane Fall Migration

Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) have already started their migration south. As these large birds leave their breeding grounds in Michigan and other northern states and provinces to spend the winter in Texas and northern Mexico, or Florida, they gather by the thousands in wetlands along the flyway to feed and rest. This creates great opportunities to see impressive numbers of cranes in the next few weeks.

Several of these areas are near Kalamazoo.

The closest is the Baker Sanctuary northeast of Battle Creek. Each year they host Cranefest, which will be October 12-13 this year. Access is via the adjacent Kiwanis Youth Conservation Area, with the best viewing in the late afternoon to just before dusk as the cranes fly overhead.

Jasper Pulaski in Indiana is the best-known spot for Sandhill Cranes in the region. It's about a 2.5 hour drive southwest from Kalamazoo. Since it is farther south, the peak migration is later, typically in mid-November.

Jasper Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area
west of US Route 421
Medaryville IN 47959

Chuck Stull

I teach economics at Kalamazoo College. My wife is also an economist. We were on sabbatical in Europe for the 2014-15 academic year. (Salamanca, Spain, followed by Oxford, UK.) We were in Uruguay for the 2006-7 academic year.